The gift of a story is a gift that should be shared. Early native cultures relied on the art of storytelling to continue the life of their culture, allowing their heritage to pass from one generation to the next. It’s through sharing stories that ideas are born, beliefs are made, morals are formed, dreams are seeded, and we learn to understand each other a little better. Storytelling today is no different.
I know many people who don’t ‘make the time’ or ‘take the time’ to do what is most important to them; to express themselves creatively. I often hear people say that they wished they still wrote, or ‘had time’ for it. There are always obstacles that prevent us from writing. One lady I know worked on a story for twenty years before finally finishing it. There were large periods of that time that she just didn’t write. There are always reasons; raising children, taking care of sick loved ones, a host of things that require our time that can prevent us from writing. There are a whole other host of reasons that we create as obstacles to prevent us from writing. We might think there are more important or productive things that we should be doing with our time, or feel guilty or selfish for taking this time for ourselves. We feel there just isn’t enough time, so we sacrifice our creative needs.
I recently realized that I now have been writing my own saga for ten years. I’ve had my share of stress, too. For ten years I watched as my mother’s health declined. In a few days it will have been a year since she passed away. I’ve done very little writing for the past few years, but lately that seems to be changing. Perhaps it’s losing a loved one that makes one question things more and put life into a different perspective.
I’ve realized there are many stories I’d love to hear from my mom again. I’m sure there are others that I never got the chance to hear. The thoughts and ideas we are given are truly gifts. What we do with them is up to us. We choose how to spend our time and which impulses to act upon. If we choose not to share our ideas and our stories these gifts are never really born, and so they die along with us.
The stories inside me deserve a chance to live. How about yours?
